Hand-held device detects liquid bombs in 5 seconds

A Japanese research team has developed a bomb-detection device that can quickly determine if liquid inside a container is explosive or flammable. Once the device is manufactured, it could rapidly speed up baggage inspections at busy airports.

When checking for liquid explosives at airports, many of the
devices used are cumbersome and take time to give results. Osaka
University researchers said earlier this month they have
developed a hand-held device that can detect whether a bottle’s
contents are explosive or flammable in a matter of seconds. When
placed between two cylinders that emit a LED light – using
Near-Infrared Resonance – the device cross-references the
light-absorption properties of the liquid with a stored database.
Depending on the safety of the liquid, a lamp glows either red or
green.

Already, scientists picture using the device in a variety of
circumstances.

“The device should prove useful not just in airports, but
also in a variety of event venues and museums, including the
Olympic games,” Hideo Itozaki, a professor of engineering
who led the team of researchers at Osaka University, told the
Ashai Shimbun.

Results can take less than a second to come in if the content of
the plastic bottle is ordinary like water; a less common liquid
will take about five seconds to analyze. Liquids in opaque
containers such as aluminum cans are inspected using a different
method, whereby sensors touch the surface of the containment
vessel. The device is compact and can be installed anywhere, and
findings are displayed on the device, according to the Asahi
Shimbun.

Developers conducted a month-long trial of the bomb-detecting
device at Narita Airport’s international terminal, and hope to
collaborate with a private developer to sell their hand-held
device next spring.